Quantum News Briefs December 13 begins with Australian Quantum Software Network launched at the University of Technology Sydney; UK calls for more collaboration with Taiwan in quantum computing; Arqit and Traxpay sign contract to deliver more efficient, secure trade finance + MORE
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Australian Quantum Software Network launched at the University of Technology Sydney
The AQSN launches with more than 110 members at nine universities and two Australian-based quantum software start-ups, representing the world’s most extensive collection of quantum software and information theory expertise. The AQSN’s mission in the coming years is to further the growth of software R&D talent and expertise within Australia, integrating Australian innovation into the rapidly expanding global ecosystem.
The AQSN has also teamed up with six initial partners to foster collaborations and partnerships between quantum hardware and software:
- Google Quantum AI
- Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST), Japan
- Aalto University, Finland
- Australian venture capital-based quantum hardware companies Silicon Quantum Computing, Quantum Brilliance and Diraq Pty Ltd
The AQSN members cover all aspects of quantum software and information theory research. This involves understanding foundational principles of quantum computation and communications to building software tools. These tools include software to control quantum hardware and software to assess the utility of quantum computing to solve some of the world’s most challenging computational problems.
Click here to read complete December 12 announcement.
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UK calls for more collaboration with Taiwan in quantum computing
John Dennis, Representative of the British Office Taipei called for more collaborations with Taiwan in the quantum computing and communication space during the Quantum Communication Technology and Application Forum hosted by the Hon Hai Research Institute on December 12 in Taipei at a venue on the National Taiwan University campus. Quantum News Briefs summarizes.
UK companies such as Oxford Instruments, are now working with the Taiwanese industry as instrument providers as well as participants in collaborative research with Taiwanese industries or research agencies such as the Industrial and Technology Research Institute (ITRI), according to Dennis.
Ching Ray Chang, the Taiwan Association of Quantum Computing and Information Technology (TAQCIT) president, also a distinguished professor of the Department of Physics at the National Taiwan University, said the collaboration between Taiwan and countries with advanced quantum technology capabilities at this stage is urgently needed, especially in the form of cultivating Taiwanese talent in their research hubs, in order to build a sufficient talent pool for developing a quantum ecosystem which consists of hardware, networking and quantum key distribution (QKD) layers of industry commercialization.
Taiwan started its National Quantum Projects in 2022, said Chang, lagging behind many countries by 5-10 years. Chang regards 2018 the starting year for the second Quantum Revolution, which is based on quantum entanglement. The United State passed the National Quantum Initiative Act in December 2018. The European Union also launched the Quantum Flagship Projects also in December 2018. And Japan also started its Quantum Leap Program in 2018. Click here to read Digital Times article in-entirety.
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Arqit and Traxpay sign contract to deliver more efficient, secure trade finance
The agreement comes as the British government’s upcoming Electronic Trade Documents Bill will legalize electronic transferable documents, enabling the digitization of global trade and opening up a potential $17 trillion global market for supply chain finance, according to the release.
“We are delighted to be working with Traxpay to enable their corporate customers and banking partners to access finance more efficiently and securely,” Arqit Senior Vice President of Working Capital Technology Dominic Broom said. “Malicious actors will undoubtedly target global trade as it undergoes transformative digitization.”
Arqit’s TradeSecure service, which uses distributed ledger technology to provide referenceable digital finance instruments, will be added to Traxpay’s platform that has processed over 65 billion euros (about $68.5 billion) of supply chain finance assets to date, according to the press release.
The full-scale commercial product is being tested and is expected to launch globally in 2023 once the enabling legislation comes into effect. Click here to read the news announcement in-entirety.
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Q-CTRL releases free Access to Fire Opal for End Users
Q-CTRL, has announced the release of Fire Opal, a user-friendly software package designed to enable algorithm developers to get useful results from today’s imperfect quantum computers. Quantum News Briefs summarizes the announcement below.
Fire Opal allows quantum algorithm developers in business and research to run more valuable algorithms on today’s quantum computers by reducing performance-limiting errors automatically. Early algorithm developers at large enterprises from banking, technology consulting, and investment management have become enthusiastic advocates of this transformational new product.
It delivers the same technology Q-CTRL researchers used to achieve up to 9,000x improvements in how likely quantum algorithms were to produce the right answer on quantum computers. This technology is now available as a fully automated software package free for any user via the cloud, enabling developers to improve quantum algorithm performance and achieve otherwise unattainable results from real quantum computers.
Fire Opal is hardware agnostic. The initial release includes integration with quantum hardware via IBM quantum devices, with more backend providers coming soon, enabling users to optimize algorithm execution on real quantum processors accessible via the cloud. Click here to read complete announcement.
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Sandra K. Helsel, Ph.D. has been researching and reporting on frontier technologies since 1990. She has her Ph.D. from the University of Arizona.